Along with many other announcements made that year, 2016 also saw Google announce the first annual Google Play Indie Games Festival, which, as the name subtly implies, celebrated indie games and the developers behind them. Fast forward to 2017, and the now-annual event is taking submissions for this year’s celebration.

Developers have until August 6 to submit their mobile games through an online form. From the pool of submissions, 20 developers will be picked as finalists to demo their games in front of a panel of judges. Three awards will be available for winners, but the real point of the event is to get their names out there and directly talk to some of the folks that download their games.

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Download Google Play Store (how to)

Download Google Play Store (how to)

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Of course, the latter will be more difficult if thousands of people attend the Indie Games Festival. That was not the case last year – the event saw around 300 attendees – and this year’s event looks to be no different.

According to Joshua Cruz, public relations manager for the developer platform at Google, the company wants an intimate setting for developers and regular folks to interact with each other. Google also views the Indie Games Festival as a way for lesser-known developers to gain the visibility they seek for their games:

Really this effort is about bringing more visibility to indie developers on Google Play. Historically, we see indies building some of the most creative experiences in mobile gaming. They tend to be first adopters of new technology and rethink the way users engage with games.

The second annual Google Play Indie Games Festival is set to be held in San Francisco on September 23. If you are an indie developer, you can click the source link below to submit your game.

In terms of Android Pay news, things have been relatively bone dry for U.K. residents in 2017. That drought has mercifully been brought to its end, seeing how American Express cards now play nice with Android Pay in the U.K.

According to Google, supported Amex cards include U.K.-issues personal, small business credit, and charge cards, along with corporate cards. If you have prepaid Amex cards, virtual accounts, corporate purchasing cards, or meeting cards, you are out of luck for the time being.

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Android Pay launches in Canada today (Update: Now in Taiwan too)

Android Pay launches in Canada today (Update: Now in Taiwan too)

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You will not get a notification that says Android Pay now supports Amex cards in the U.K., so just make sure to open the app and check that all your card credentials are present and accurate.

The added support is certainly welcome in the U.K., where American Express is one of the more popular options in the country. This also means that U.K. residents will no longer need to depend on Amex Pay, Amex’s proprietary contactless solution, as the only way to pay via NFC.

This move comes after Google brought Android Pay, along with support for American Express cards, to Canada in June.

To add your Amex card, open the Android Pay app, tap the + button on the bottom right, tap Add a credit or debit card, and use either the camera or keyboard to enter your card information.

Amazon’s Prime Day might be right around the corner, but Anker did not want to wait until then to issue an enticing discount to its PowerCore+ 26800 portable charger.

As the name implies, the PowerCore+ 26800 is a huge 26,800 mAh external battery pack that features three USB ports. Do not be deterred by the lack of support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge – each USB port supports Anker’s proprietary PowerIQ and VoltageBoost, so you will get the maximum output without fear of overheating, overcharging, and everything in between.

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Thanks to its capacity, the PowerCore+ 26800 promises to charge your phone over six times and your tablet at least two times. The size is something you will need to contend with, though the external battery includes a travel pouch if you want to throw it in a bag.

The size also brings up the issue of charging, since it will take a long time for the PowerCore+ 26800 to get back to 100 percent when fully drained. Luckily, the external battery features two microUSB ports that folks have stated charge the PowerCore+ 26800 from empty to full in just under seven hours. In other words, this is an external battery you will want to charge overnight.

The best part about the battery is its $41.99 price tag, a great price for a battery with such capacity. This deal is not permanent – it is set to expire a few hours past midnight tomorrow morning. If you play tons of Pokemon Go or are usually found out and about, and you do not mind the size, the PowerCore+ 26800 is a solid external battery option from a reputable company.

Rogue applications are an unfortunate part of reality for Android. Even though they are certainly not exclusive to Google’s mobile operating system, it almost seems as if there are more Android-based ones, seeing how many security researchers continually report malware. To help fight back, Google included a feature within Android 7.1 Nougat that has flown under the radar, but kicks users exit out of malicious apps.

XDA Developers features a thorough breakdown of the feature, but the general idea is that “panic detection” pays attention to how many times you press the back button within a certain amount of time. This is in order to differentiate a regular button press from the four button presses needed to activate the feature, with 0.3 seconds per tap acting as the grace period during which panic detection checks for further key presses.

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This allows the operating system to override the app and send you back to the home screen, particularly useful if a rogue app takes over the display and prevents you from backing out of it. From there, you can uninstall the malicious app and be on your merry way.

Google does not advertise this feature for one reason or another, but it is very useful for those who accidentally download a malicious app. Then again, the number of folks not on Android 7.1 greatly number the number of people who are. Panic detection is also a feature that hackers will try to exploit and, as such, try to keep it from working so people remain stuck in their scam apps.

Traditional, non-touchscreen Chrome OS were very popular in the past, but partly due to the inclusion of Android app support, Google has slowly made its desktop operating system more touch-friendly over the years. That trend looks to continue with an updated look and feel that make Chrome OS more touch-friendly than before.

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Based on the video, which was first spotted by Engadget and uploaded by Chromium evangelist François Beaufort, the redesigned desktop takes cues from Android by having the app launcher window at the bottom of the screen when you click on the Apps button. By comparison, clicking on the Apps button will pop open a window in the current version of Chrome OS.

In the redesign, clicking on the Apps button also opens a search bar, which you can drag up to open the full app drawer. Alternatively, five “suggested apps” sit right below the search bar, so there is no need to open the app drawer if the app you want is there.

The best part about the redesign is you do not have to wait to play around with it – it is live on Chrome OS’ canary channel. Even so, the software is incredibly buggy, so unless you live on the bleeding edge, it might be best to wait until Google irons out all of the kinks.

What is promising about the update, though, is that Google looks to be interested in changing Chrome OS from an operating system designed around a keyboard and mouse to one that takes your fingers into account. It also means that manufacturers could eventually release new types of Chrome OS devices instead of the laptop/touchscreen hybrids that dominate the Chrome OS market today.

From adding offline support to launching a live TV option, Hulu is not messing around when it comes to video streaming. That trend continues with the addition of HBO and Cinemax to Hulu’s growing list of partners.

The best part about the announcement is it does not matter which Hulu subscription plan you have – Cinemax and HBO are $9.99 and $14.99 per month add-ons, respectively. Regardless of the add-on, Hulu subscribers will have access to its live and on-demand libraries. As a nice bonus, those who pay for the HBO add-on can use their Hulu credentials to log into the HBO Now app.

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A bit of fine print regarding the announcement is you can only watch HBO and Cinemax on devices where Hulu’s updated user experience is available. That list includes Android, iOS, Apple TV, and Xbox One, though it will hopefully expand a bit over time.

Another hitch is not every one of HBO’s and Cinemax’s channels are available out the gate. Over the next few weeks, the likes of HBO 2, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Comedy, HBO Signature HD, HBO Zone, MoreMAX HD, ActionMAX HD, ThrillerMAX HD, MovieMAX HD, 5StarMax HD, and OuterMAX HD will be added. For now, you can access content from the main HBO and Cinemax services.

Even though Hulu has plenty to be happy about with this announcement, the real winner might be HBO, which you can now subscribe to through several different outlets apart from a cable package. That number is expected to increase over time, which helps place HBO in an enviable and lucrative position.

When Android co-creator Andy Rubin took the wraps off the Essential Phone around the end of May, the Playground and Essential CEO also said the phone would ship within the following 30 days. It has been over 30 days since then, and even though the Essential Phone is not yet at my doorstep, I am perfectly okay with that.

Regardless of Rubin’s pedigree in the industry, Essential is the new kid on the block. There are plenty of wrinkles for such a young player to iron out, some of which a company like OnePlus, which has been on the market for over three years, is still working out.

It’s not as if Essential has stood on its laurels – the company received a $300 million investment in June, which means that the company is now valued somewhere between $900 million and $1 billion. Along with the $30 million the company raised in 2016, Essential is in a better position than other nascent smartphone manufacturers, at least financially.

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Furthermore, it helps that we have learned plenty about the Essential Phone since its announcement. For example, we now know that the phone will be a Sprint exclusive in the U.S., though Essential promises the unlocked version will work on all four of the country’s major carriers. The Essential Phone is also available for pre-order for $699, a pretty high price tag for a smartphone from an unknown player.

By comparison, the OnePlus 5 packs very similar specifications for a lower price tag, which lines up with OnePlus’ business philosophy of using cost to attract customers. Essential wants a slightly different crowd, however, one that is willing to throw $699 at the company to receive a phone with a more futuristic and modular design.

To make that happen, however, Essential must make sure the Essential Phone is as market-ready as possible, and if that means it passes the 30-day window Rubin promised the phone would ship in, then I am okay with that. Of course, I do not want that to be a trend moving forward, but I am optimistic about Essential’s future prospects. What are your thoughts? Let us know down in the comments.

Out of all the Android skins out there, Xiaomi’s MIUI is one of the more divisive ones out there due to the way it changes how Android typically feels across other devices, among other qualities. Whether that changes with the upcoming MIUI 9 remains to be seen, but Xiaomi looks to unveil the update on August 16 in China.

A post on Xiaomi’s forums confirmed the upcoming announcement, though it did not say what new features MIUI 9 would bring. It did confirm that MIUI’s product manager took to Chinese microblogging site Weibo to give folks a sneak peek of MIUI 9’s aesthetics, as well as lay down the law regarding Android Nougat and MIUI 9.

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Regarding the latter point, a recently-leaked poster showed which Xiaomi devices will get upgraded to Android 7.0 and which will get bumped up to Android 7.1. The forum post made it clear that this list differs from the list of devices that will be upgraded to MIUI 9, though there will inevitably be some crossover.

As for what features we can expect, MIUI 9 is rumored to include split-screen and picture-in-picture modes, the latter of which will be available when Android O launches later this year. We can also expect a slew of performance improvements, bug fixes, and features, but what those look like will have to wait until the official announcement to learn more.

Known for its Bluetooth speakers, earpieces, and fitness trackers, Jawbone appears to be on the way out as the company is reported to have begun liquidation proceedings and its CEO to have already moved on.

The report comes to us courtesy of The Information, with The Verge also independently confirming Jawbone’s demise. According to both outlets, Jawbone co-founder and CEO Hosain Rahman founded Jawbone Health Hub, a new company that will focus on health-related hardware and software services.

Many Jawbone employees have reportedly moved to the new company, a move that prevents Rahman from truly starting from square one. Existing Jawbone products will allegedly be serviced by Jawbone Health Hub once the nail is put in Jawbone’s coffin, though we presume that the manufacturing of said products will halt due to the pivot to the health sector.

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Alas, these reports seemingly put an end to the sad state of affairs that is Jawbone. Signs of financial trouble were in the air when the company laid off 60 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, back in November 2015. Jawbone said the layoffs were part of wider “streamlining,” but eyebrows were raised when it was reported that the company halted production of its UP fitness trackers and sold remaining inventory to a third party.

Jawbone refuted the report and said it was committed to the wearable market. That commitment was questioned yet again in February 2017, when it was reported that Jawbone would leave the wearable market and enter the world of medical services, moves that line up with the news of Jawbone’s liquidation and eventual demise.

It is a shame, really, since Jawbone’s products would not be classified as bad – one of Jawbone’s Bluetooth speakers was even called “America’s Favorite Wireless Speaker.” Unfortunately for the company, its 18 years of existence have also been highlighted by product failures, unpaid contractors, layoffs, lawsuits, and (now) a lack of relevancy in a market now dominated by the likes of Fitbit, Xiaomi, and Apple.

The OnePlus 5 might be known for its design and cost, but OnePlus really pushes its camera system. After all, the company teamed up with DxO, the company behind the DxOMark camera benchmark, with the OnePlus 5’s box having the “Dual Camera. Clearer Photos” tagline embossed on it. It appears as if DxOMark took note of the camera system too, since the benchmark deemed it one of the better ones out there.

Ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so images that might look good for certain people might not look as great for others. Nonetheless, DxOMark grades cameras in order to provide a numerical basis of comparison. The same goes for smartphone cameras, and this is where the OnePlus 5’s camera comes in.

DxOMark’s analysis slapped the OnePlus 5’s camera with an 87, which puts the sensor on par with those on the Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC U11, Huawei P10, and Apple iPhone 7, all of which either scored the same, a point or two more, or a point less.

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More specifically, DxOMark commented on the sensor’s accurate white balance, good detail preservation, fast and smooth autofocus, and punchy color rendition. Regardless of whether it was an image or video, DxOMark said the sensor does well in bright and low-light settings. However, the benchmark also notes that indoor performance was mixed and there was digital noise in images.

The only problem is this might not be good enough for OnePlus. To say that OnePlus advertises the OnePlus 5’s camera is an understatement – whether it’s an announcement, the box, or OnePlus’ own home page, the OnePlus 5’s dual-camera sensor is front and center. It seems as if OnePlus portrayed the phone’s camera as the second coming of Jesus, yet the sensor does not live to the exceptionally high bar the company set for it, at least in terms of benchmarking.

At the end of the day, DxOMark is a benchmark, so someone’s subjective experience with the OnePlus 5’s camera may differ from another’s experience. Regardless, it appears that OnePlus fell victim to its own marketing yet again, a trend that put the company in a negative light not too long ago for different reasons.